Jerry Brown's legacy as California's historic four-term governor

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (KTVU) - As the page turns on Jerry Brown's historic four terms as California's top elected official and some five decades in Golden State politics, he took time to look back at what he regards as his legacy for Californians, posting a video message online during his final days in office.

In Sacramento Friday, moving trucks pulled up and a procession of Brown's possessions came streaming out of the State Capitol building.

"There's a ton of stuff that's boxed up in there, a lot of history between him and his dad," said one mover.

More boxes were packed up and brought out of the Governor's mansion, a place that Brown first entered when his father Pat Brown became the state's 32nd governor in 1959.

Now, at age 80, Jerry Brown leaves office as the state's 34th and 39th governor.

Brown posted a thank you message on his twitter feed Friday @JerryBrownGov along with a six minute, forty-six second video. The video included a list of accomplishments and what he views as his legacy.

The video started with the state budget, noting California was in near bankruptcy when he entered office and now has a budget surplus as he leaves.

"Hi I'm Governor Jerry Brown. When I took office, California faced a staggering deficit of over 26 billion," the video began.

Professor Ethan Rarick, an expert on California politics and Associate Director of UC Berkeley's Institute For Governmental Studies, has written about the Brown family and authored the book "California Rising: The Life and Times of Pat Brown."

Rarick says Jerry Brown ended up being a fiscally moderate Democrat by reigning in spending, raising taxes and investing in a rainy day fund to help California dig out of debt and recover with the improving economy

"By putting the state's fiscal house in order, he really changed the national perception of California," said Rarick, "When he took office we were issuing IOUs to state employees when there were big budget fights. We couldn't pay our bills."

Rarick says Brown also will be remembered for turning California into a leader on fighting climate change, often putting Brown at odds with the Trump administration on environmental policies.

"He emphasized legislation dealing with climate change and he emphasized making the state a global leader and creating a global reputation for the state in battling climate change," said Rarick.

Brown's farewell video, included a clip with Brown talking about the issue.

"I'm not here for some cockamamie legacy that people talk about. This isn't for me. I'm going to be dead. It's for you. It's for you and it's damn real," Brown said.

Rarick noted that Brown also oversaw criminal justice reform during his second stint in Sacramento, but some projects remain incomplete.

"Two big infrastructure projects that I think in the long run could be part of his legacy, are completing the water project and building high speed rail...but we just don't know what's going to happen there," said Rarick.

Brown was elected to his first term as governor in 1974 at the age of 36. He was dubbed "Governor Moonbeam" back in the 70's for his appeal to young, idealistic voters.

He was later elected Mayor of Oakland from 1998, serving two terms. Current Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf was one of Brown's aides.

"I'll be honest with you, working for Jerry Brown was exhausting. That man has boundless energy. He is on 24/7 but that is what I admire about him so much," said Schaaf.

Schaaf says she believes Jerry Brown's tenure as Oakland Mayor grounded him in the gritty reality of regular Californians.

"I felt like his stint has a mayor of Oakland brought a sense of kind of raw connection with the real plights of our most vulnerable populations in California," said Schaaf, who adds that she doesn't think this is the end of Jerry Brown's public life.

"I don't think Jerry Brown likes the word legacy because he's not going anywhere. The man is full of so much energy," said Schaaf, "I'm sure there will be a next chapter for Jerry Brown."